- pensfan621
- Aug 25, 2024
- 3 min read
I know I haven't been around lately. Over here at casa Gatto, I was first concentrating on my Lymphedema therapy. I wanted, well, I needed to make using my LE pump, then wrapping my legs as much part of my daily routine as having my cup of coffee. I did get there for a while.
Recently, I got serious about getting healthy. I'm turning 50 next year, (I'm totally cool with that, btw) and I want to be one of those 50 year olds who feels good and looks good.
And for me, it's about finding a healthy lifestyle, not the latest trend diet.
I've failed on every "diet" I have tried in my lifetime. So no more dieting. Just learning how to eat healthy, and still enjoy food, and the occasional treat.
Mr. G jumped on board too. We went from ordering a few times a week to once in a few months! We have NEVER done that, lol. I'm sure you're like "But you hate to cook. So what were you eating? lol" But I WAS cooking! Yay me! Easy marinated chicken grilled is my frequent go to. It is so versatile. You can put it on a sandwich, wrap, salad, or eat it on a plate with some veggies.
But I am finding that planning and prepping meals, trying to figure out how to get enough protein per day, and get in some exercise is a full time job. Prior to that, doing all that was needed for my LE was a full time job. Therefore, my LE habits fell off when I added getting healthy. I still haven't figured out how to do both, BUT I am getting back into wrapping daily and doing the pump a few times a week. It's a learning curve for sure.
Yes, we're doing higher protein, and smaller portions. It's been an eye opener. And it really feels like something sustainable for both of us. Mr. G has taken to enjoying Fairlife and Premier Protein shakes. I can't handle sucralose, so I stick to real foods. (well, I do now, after trying a bunch of packaged high protein mixes)
We did go out this weekend and enjoy an Auntie Anne's pretzel, and then pizza at Monticello's. See, we still enjoy good food once in a while. Oh, water. We've been trying to drink LOTS of water. For me it isn't as easy as it sounds, even if it is the only think I drink. But we're trying.
I have thought of ideas for Delay of Game, and have been jumping on there a bit. I feel good about it, and hope to work on it more and more.
I guess I should boast about how I'm doing, huh? Well, since October 2024 I have dropped 28lbs. But I lost 12 of that since July 2024. I am stoked at my recent loss, and I feel good about how it is going. Like I said, Mr. G is doing it as well, and that helps so much! He can tell me "not a good idea" and I can tell him "no, we really don't need that" and we work on this together!
I want to feel good. And this is what I need to do that. Keeping a journal has helped a lot too. Getting all the "mind-clutter" out of the way in the morning makes for a stress-free day.
Oh, and we've really gotten into those Hallmark Mystery movies. And Murder She Wrote, lol. First it was a nice memory because it was one of my Grandma's favorite shows. But then we really got into it, and it's often on in the background as we unwind each day!
So, I'm just over here, trying to get healthy and find a sustainable, healthy, good tasting and easy way of eating, add some exercise, drink all the water, keep house, remember to do my LE therapy, and work on story ideas while getting ready to replace our roof... and I'm not mad over any of it. Actually, I think we both are the happiest we've been.
Our son is still looking for a job in an automotive parts department. Employers don't like to call back, and that's frustrating for him. He is so eager to work, and I wish someone would give him a chance! But while he's here, he is eating the same way as us, so he is unknowingly eating healthier too, lol.
I think I've talked your ears off enough about our plan to get healthy. Just know I am still here and working hard to bring you a Renegades 13, AND I really do want to put out a new stand alone in 2025. Fingers crossed!
- pensfan621
- Jul 8, 2024
- 3 min read
Have you heard of the Pittsburgh Cookie Table? It is usually at weddings, but let's get real...we do them for EVERY event! Weddings, funerals and wakes, graduation parties, showers, and parties/holidays.
If you aren't from Pittsburgh, I am sure you are asking yourself, "what IS a cookie table?"
You may find this weird, but, I have never been to a wedding that didn't have a cookie table. And until well into my adult years, I didn't know that not everyone has cookie tables at their weddings! What??? No cookies? What do you snack on at the reception? The answer was always "we only have a wedding cake." But that's not served till folks are ready to go home. Yes, I was baffled and perplexed to learn this. We look forward to the cookie table!!
For many generations, the cookie table has been a staple at weddings throughout Western Pennsylvania. To those who are not from Pittsburgh, the idea of having a cookie table at a wedding may be baffling. However, “The Cookie Table” is a time honored tradition. And we take it VERY seriously!
Rooted deep in the history of Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio lies the tradition of the wedding cookie table. To these folks, a wedding without a Cookie Table is like having a wedding without the Bride and Groom – pointless! I'm not even joking! We look forward to getting to the reception hall for the cookies!
The Wedding Cookie Table has strong ethnic and religious ties, linked mainly to European immigrants of Catholic descent – particularly present in industrial areas that housed Italians, Greeks, and other Europeans.
It is believed to have started during the Great Depression when many families could not afford a wedding cake, instead substituting homemade cookies. Traditionally the bride’s immediate family, including mother, grandmothers, aunt, cousins and closest friends spent many months before the wedding baking delicious cookies from scratch. I have yet to see a store bought cookie on a wedding cookie table. It's not that we are too snobbish for packaged cookies, it's more that cookie tables are created by folks who love to bake.
Nowadays the baking is done by both sides of the family. Every cookie made with love and with hopes that the married couple will share in as many happy years as there are dozens of cookies at the wedding. (and there are always many many dozens of cookies!)
This tradition has long been practiced by the various cultures which have migrated to Pittsburgh over the decades, including the Italian, German, Irish, Slovak, and other Eastern European cultures. At the traditional Pittsburgh Cookie Table you will see various types of cookies, but the most common ones are Pizzelle, Shortbread cookies, biscotti, Buckeyes, Lady Locks (I feel like you HAVE to have these at the wedding cookie table), and chocolate chips just to name a few.
This tradition is important and continues on because it is a labor of love for the newly married couple. I have yet to meet someone who was annoyed that they "had" to bake cookies for a wedding. Friends and relatives usually jump at the chance to bake, some without even being asked. And it always ends up being amazing.
Remember, in Pittsburgh, people don’t wonder, “How was the wedding?” They ask, “How were the cookies?”
The first three photos are from our family cookie tables (a graduation picnic, a 50th Anniversary party, and a 25th Anniversary party). The second set of three photos are from the Facebook page The Wedding Cookie Table Community (credit to them).
And there you have it. The Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table! I bet you want a cookie now, huh?
- pensfan621
- May 15, 2024
- 2 min read
I know it's been forever since you've seen a new book from me. I'm bummed about that too.
Things got weird during the pandemic. I was used to a house all to myself all day long. Long stretches of silence that I would sit and write. But suddenly everyone was home. And half the time everyone is still home.
I have a few stories on my mind that I want to write. Sitting down to do it will be the hard part. Over the last 6 months I have been working on me and trying to get healthy (lose weight). It's a lot of work to go from sitting for 8-10 hours a day, to meal planning, cooking, (now) adding in movement and exercise, and adding using my Lymphedema pump for an hour a day (I might as well nap while I do that, because you can't sit up enough to type).
The last month I have been trying to put me first, and my getting healthy journey. Well, that leaves no time to sitting and writing.
I need a better plan! I will start trying to plan my day out so I can get these words to paper. I need to! I want to.
Speaking of words. I know you are all probably anxious for the next Renegades book, and believe me, I feel like a piece of garbage that I haven't given that to you yet. But that story just isn't coming to me. The characters have been off doing who knows what instead of talking to me, and it's frustrating. So, I am going to let that go for the moment. The book will be written. The series will continue. I am just finally letting myself take the break from it. I had been forcing a story that wasn't there for the last year, and I just need to allow myself to back off. Let it come naturally. When it's ready to.
In the meantime, I am going to work on one or two other stories I keep thinking about. I at least know one of them will be a standalone. The hardest part will be trying to sit and do it, after a month of telling myself that I need to get up and move...
So, I apologize that Delay of Game won't be out any time soon.
But stick around so you don't miss the announcement when it's finally time.
And I hope to get something new to you in 2024! Stay Tuned...
